An online speakeasy of potent potables and other pabulam.

I’m guessing not here since we’ve been a bit remiss on posting as often as we’d like. We’re working on it, honest!

But things I’ve done lately:

• Cigar Advisor revamped as an online magazine. You’ll see something from me in their July issue. But they’re doing tasting competitions with a great deal on the cigars involved, and I did my first round last night. It was a J Fuego Origen Original versus a Schizo 60 versus a Trocadero Honore. The Original was good, though quite a tight draw, and unlabeled which made it hard to figure out which one it was at first. I liked the Honore at first, but it had an interesting spice taste that got a bit old after a while. The Schizo 60 was just a solid cigar, and so I voted for it.
• And it looks my “raccoon traps” – bowls with rags soaked in ammonia – are working to keep the bugger away from me!
• Plum Deluxe posted an article I wrote about upgrading your bar. Read it and comment about it on Facebook should you desire!
• If you know me, you know I like beer. That being said, I am now boycotting Rogue. It started with them suing some NOLA bartenders after they dared name their book “Rogue Cocktails” and now they’re suing a local restaurant, Rogue 24. That’s Not Cool, Rogue.
• Next Friday DC Toasts salutes African-American bartenders. You should go. I will be there. It will be fun.
• Just an FYI: Looks like neither Marshall nor I will be attending Tales this year. It’s sad, but it will be good for my wallet. I will probably write more at length on the biggest reason I’ve decided against going later, but if you’ve read my coverage from previous years (especially 2011) you can probably guess the gist of it.

Well, that’s about it for now. If you’re looking for a good brunch spot, go bug our fellow scofflaw Anthony at Beuchert’s Saloon. Order many Ramos Gin Fizzes and mimosas. Try the oxtail gravy and biscuits, because I haven’t yet but they look fantastic!

A Beuchert’s Saloon employee pours bright orange syrup into a glass, adds ice, and pulls the handle to a soda fountain draft releasing a stream of carbonated water. The result is a house-made orange crush soda.

“It’s very creamy,” said Rachael Lopez, 24, a patron at Beuchert’s. Her husband, Ben Berkow, 26, enjoyed the smooth taste and the subtle vanilla flavor he got.

This new Capitol Hill restaurant recently installed three soda fountain draft arms originally [...] Continue Reading…

While tasting whiskey is the most important introductory step one can take to begin understanding the vast world of whiskey, EDUCATING one’s self about whiskey is step number two. As you begin reading about how whiskey is made, you will not only learn the science behind the process but the history of whiskey will begin to reveal itself. So start reading! As a whiskey connoisseur and whiskey teacher, I stress the [...] Continue Reading…

I’m trying to think of pithy titles to go along with the updates in this particular series. No luck so far so if anyone out there has some suggestions, I’m all ears.

It’s been almost two weeks since I received the diabetus diagnoses. My wife and I have been eating a mostly paleo diet. If you aren’t familiar, the basic tenant of a paleo diet is that you eat like you live in the paleolithic [...] Continue Reading…